


Explosive Decompression

by Terrie



Series: Natural Phenomena [9]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Disastrous Dating Histories, M/M, Public Display of Affection, cliffhanger ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-09 13:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11105931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Terrie/pseuds/Terrie
Summary: Even Team Flash needs an evening off once in a while.





	Explosive Decompression

**Author's Note:**

> Guys, please heed the warning about the cliffhanger ending. This story took me a lot longer than I thought, due to a combo of things, but a big factor was tendinitis in my wrist and thumb, which means I'm limited in how much typing I can do at once. So if you're concerned about the cliffhanger thing, I do recommend waiting for the next story, because while I know what needs to get done for it, I'm not sure how long it will take.
> 
> Also, I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has commented and left kudos on this series. In the past couple months, when I've been frustrated by the realization that I'd written myself into a corner and needed to start this one from scratch, when I was waving around my clunky, useless hand with it's stupid, clunky brace, knowing that people have enjoyed this series has been a huge motivator. You guys rock!

Cisco is fairly certain that doing his work while sitting in Harry's lap goes against Caitlin's rules about PDA in the Cortex, but they both need to be able to see the computer screen, and this is just efficient. Besides, they aren't doing anything inappropriate. Harry's done nothing more intimate than put his hands on Cisco's hips to steady him when he has to reach across the desk for a pen.

Not that Caitlin is ever going to believe that when the first thing Harry does when she walks into the room is hold his hands up in the air like he's just been caught putting them somewhere he shouldn’t. She narrows her eyes at both of them. Cisco squirms slightly, even knowing they weren't doing anything.

“Honestly, Harry, I’d think that, at your age, you’d have some self-control.”

Harry’s arms drop back down to wrap around Cisco's waist. "My self-control is fine. I just don't see the point of denying myself what I want.”

Cisco is torn between the desire to elbow Harry in the ribs for being, well, Harry and snuggling back into his hold. He settles for leaning back, the solid thump of his weight driving the air from Harry’s lungs. "Behave.”

“I am behaving. My hands have stayed well away from any naughty places as has been previously demanded.”

Caitlin rolls her eyes. “He’s sitting in your lap, Harry.”

“Um, actually, that was my idea,” Cisco admits. “In my defence, it was the easiest way for both of us to see the screen.”

“Of course it was.” Caitlin shakes her head. “I swear, you two shouldn’t be left unsupervised. You come up with the worst ideas, and you have no idea how bad they are.”

Harry slips a hand under Cisco’s shirt. The sudden touch of cool fingers against warm skin makes Cisco squeak. He swats at Harry's hands. "Dude, what's with the ice fingers?”

Harry pulls his hand free and returns it to Cisco’s waist. “They’re no worse than normal, and you’ve never complained before.”

“Normally, you give me some warning.” Cisco can't keep the annoyance out of his voice, but he also can't stop himself from tipping his head back. Warm lips pressed to his temple are way better than cold fingers on his stomach. "Also, weren’t you just saying about how you were behaving? This is not you behaving.”

“If we're not going to get any credit for behaving, why bother?” 

Cisco laughs and wags a finger at Caitlin. "See what you started?”

“What I started? You're the one still sitting in his lap. I just came in to see if you were ready to go.” 

“What time is it?” He glances at the time on the computer and flails as he tries to climb off of Harry's lap. "Crap, we’re going to be late.”

He can't remember where he left his jacket and spends several seconds looking around, before Caitlin picks it up off the back of a chair. She hands it to him, then turns to Harry. “You know, you’re welcome to join us.”

“Please tell me what gave you the idea I’d enjoy spending time in a bar, so I can stop doing whatever it was.”

Cisco lightly pushes at the back of Harry’s head, though it does nothing but muss his hair. “Don’t be a jerk.”

Harry wraps a hand around Cisco’s wrist, pulling him back towards Harry’s lap. It's tempting to let him, to drop back and relax into Harry's warmth. One look at Caitlin tells him that won't fly. Instead, he leans down, threads his free hand in Harry's hair and kisses him soundly. "I know it's not your thing, but you'd be welcome anyway. You’re welcome anywhere and everywhere as far as I'm concerned.”

There’s no such thing as a single kiss with Harry. He draws Cisco down again to press their lips together. “Go. Have fun. Though I have no idea why you’d choose a bar when Allen is incapable of getting drunk.”

“Which makes him the perfect designated driver,” Caitlin says.

“Ah, that explains it.” He still has a hold of Cisco’s wrist, his thumb rubbing along the skin on the inside of his arm. “Make sure he gets you home safe.”

\---

In deference to Barry’s constant need for fuel, they’ve picked a new microbrewery. It doesn’t offer food itself, but does let you bring in food from nearby restaurants. It’s a little pretentious for Cisco’s taste, but he supposes it doesn’t matter since he’s here for the company, not the decor. Barry and Iris are already there, holding down a table in one corner. Fastest man alive or not, Barry is never on time anywhere, so having him there first is just embarrassing. Though, Iris is usually reliable, so maybe he and Caitlin aren’t that late.

Cisco pulls out his phone once they're seated and fires off a quick text message. When he looks up, Iris, Barry and Caitlin are all looking at him. “What?”

“Please tell me you didn’t just get a metahuman alert,” Caitlin says. “I was really looking forward to this.”

“No alert. Just letting Harry know we got here okay.” He shrugs. "After what happened to Jesse, it keeps him from worrying.”

“You guys are so sweet.”

Cisco stares at Iris. "Okay, that's a word I never expected to be used to describe me and Harry. Cranky, sarcastic and awkward are more our speed.”

“Oh, come on. Last week, when you had a headache and he brought you coffee and rubbed your shoulders? That wasn't sweet?”

The shoulder rub had been, at least partially, an excuse to put hands all over Cisco. It had started with hands on his shoulders and ended with fingers tangled in his hair. But when he opens his mouth to say so, Barry shakes his head. "Don't even bother. You will not win. Trust me, voice of long experience talking here.”

Smiling, Iris curls her hands around Barry's elbow. “You’re pretty sweet, too, babe. Among other things. Has anyone told you smart is sexy?”

“You may have mentioned that once or twice,” says Barry, as the tips of his ears turn red. He twines their fingers together. “I'm okay with being sweet.”

She leans against Barry’s shoulder and smiles up at him. “I know. It's part of why I like you so much. Do you think you could show off how sweet you are and get us some drinks from the bar?”

“So that's your plan. Butter me up, then put me to work. I would go along with it, but there is a fatal flaw. There are four of us, and I only have two hands.” He wiggles his fingers in the air to illustrate his point.

Cisco rolls his eyes. “I'll help. Caitlin, what do you want?”

She leans back in her chair to look towards the bar, then shrugs. "You know what I like. Surprise me.”

“You realize you didn’t actually tell me to bring you something you like.” At her look, he adds, “But I will, because I'm a good friend like that.”

There’s a bit of a crowd at the bar, and they stand there, waiting for the bartender to finish up with a group of college girls. It’s a microbrewery. They have beer. Cisco has no idea why it’s so hard to for them to decide. He huffs his annoyance and reaches for something to distract him. “So, how are things with Iris?”

Barry smiles and gets that look on his face. The one from all the internet memes about finding the person who looks at you that way. "Amazing. Wonderful. What's another word for amazing?”

“Um, fantastic?”

“Fantastic, yes.” 

Cisco suspects that Barry would do a happy dance right there if it weren't for the crowd around the bar. "Hey, man, I'm happy for you. You and Iris deserve all the best.”

“Thanks.” He claps a hand to Cisco’s shoulder. “I know I haven’t always acted like it, but I’m happy for you, too.”

Cisco can’t stop his raised eyebrow. Barry’s right that he hasn’t acted like it. He hasn’t been hostile, but he has acted as if he just ignored it long enough, it would go away. Which was not going to happen. Cisco is committed, and he likes to think Harry is, too.

Barry sighs, his expression turning serious. "Look, after what happened to my dad, I wasn't in a good place. When Harry told me about the two of you, it threw me for a loop. So I put off dealing with it. And kept putting it off. I need to stop doing that. He makes you happy. I don't want to do anything to take away from that.”

It’s hard to get mad at a guy who just wants everyone to be happy. "You're not the only one who's been skeptical. I keep catching Joe giving Harry these looks. He's never said anything to me, but I don't think he likes it. Even Caitlin wasn't too sure at first. Though I think that has more to do with my dating history than it does Harry.”

“I can see that.” Barry signals their order to the bartender, who has finally freed himself from the crowd of giggling college girls. Barry says, “There's Kendra, which of all the people in Central City you could have asked out, you went for the person with the world's most complicated relationship history. And then there's Lisa Snart, who helped kidnap you.”

“I never actually went on a date with Lisa.” He grabs two of the glasses the bartender sets out for them. “I mean, I probably would have, if she'd stuck around.”

“But then you might not have Harry.” Barry takes the other two glasses and starts working his way back towards their table.

“Which would suck, because, objectively speaking, Harry is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“‘Objectively speaking?’ Seriously?” Barry stops and turns to him with a skeptical look.

“Man, Lisa Snart and Kendra are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to my bad dating choices.” He goes to run a hand through his hair, only to be stopped by the beer he’s holding. Cisco frowns down at his hands. “Look, if you don’t believe me, just ask Caitlin. She was front and center for a lot of it.”

“I’m going to ask her once we're back to the table, you know that, right?”

“Go for it, man. She will back me up, one hundred percent.” It’s only after he says it that he realizes he’s inviting all kinds of mocking. Too late now. Besides, Barry would hear some of it sooner or later. 

Barry gets a kiss in return for the beer he brought Iris. Thankfully, Caitlin only gives him a bright smile for the glass Cisco hands her. Barry leans across the table. “Okay, true or false. Lisa Snart is not the worst choice Cisco has made when it comes to dating.”

Caitlin looks over to Cisco. He nods, giving her permission to go ahead. She sighs. “True. His dating record is awful. Truly, truly awful. The worst.”

“I don’t know.” Iris frowns. “Barry has a few disasters in his history.”

Barry twitches in his seat. “I do not. Name one.”

“Two words. Margo Yates.”

Barry turns red so quickly that it’s possible speedster abilities are involved. He buries his face in his hands, peeking out between his fingers. “Okay, yeah, that was a disaster.” 

Cisco had actually not considered that Barry might have mishaps to rival his own,and he can’t help but be curious. “C’mon, share. I bet I can top it.”

“You’re just trying to get out of telling your own story,” Barry says.

“Not true.” Well, it’s mostly not true. 95 percent not true. “I just think we should share the pain. You tell me yours and I'll tell you mine. Promise.”

Barry hesitates. Iris nudges him. “Go on. If you don't tell it, I will.”

“You are so mean.” It’s hard to take Barry’s complaining seriously when he slings an arm over Iris shoulders and pulls her to his side. “So, Margo Yates. I met her my sophomore year in college. Her dorm room was on the same floor as mine, and she needed some help with chemistry. We’d order pizza and go over her homework. She was funny and nice and we started hanging out and then dating. Joe came to pick me for winter break, and they met and got along great. So I figure when I get back, it's time to introduce her to my best friend.”

Cisco and Caitlin exchange glances. Caitlin says, “I take it that didn't go as well.”

“Margo turned out to be one of those people who thought men and women can't be friends.” Iris takes over the story. “Within thirty minutes of meeting me, she called me a slut. And within thirty seconds of that, they were broken up.”

“Wow. Some people are just…” Caitlin shakes her head. “The whole ‘men and women can’t be friends’ thing is so stupid. I’ve had people shocked that Cisco and I aren't dating. Which, I'm sorry, but that is never happening.”

Cisco gives her his best appraising look. “Yeah, that's just too weird. Like dating my sister. _Ew_. Not that I'm judging you and Iris or anything like that.”

Barry laughs. “Not gonna take it personally, don't worry. So now that you've heard my dating disaster story, let's hear yours.”

“A lot of it isn’t on that level. It just always seemed to go wrong. Had a college girlfriend cheat on me. One guy from my engineering program who asked me out, even though he was straight, but thought it would be a sneaky way to pick my brain on the project requirements for a class I’d TA’d the year before. A blind date with a girl who turned out to be a militant vegetarian and ended the date by dumping my evil, meat-containing dinner into my lap. And let's not forget my first month at STAR labs, when one of the guys in my lab found out I was bi and tried to set me up with Hartley.”

“Your cousin’s wedding,” Caitlin mumbles into her glass. “That was as bad as Barry’s.”

When Cisco hesitates, Iris leans in. “Come on. Tell.”

“So a couple years ago, my cousin Elena was getting married.” It had actually been during the time Barry had been in his post lightening coma and four months after Cisco had broken up with his then boyfriend over his refusal to quit his position at STAR labs. “A couple weeks before the wedding, Elena calls me up and says her future sister-in-law just broke up with her fiance and would I be willing to fill in as a groom's man.”

“Wow, that's really nice,” says Iris.

“I like Elena. I mean, I wouldn't call her favorite cousin, but we get along. So I said yes, even when she admitted she asked me mainly because I didn't have a plus one and wouldn't make for complicated seating rearrangements.”

“Okay, maybe not so nice.”

“At least she was honest, right?” Cisco takes a sip of his beer. “So at the rehearsal, I meet Alicia. She seems nice. A little scattered, but she just broke up with her fiance, so it's not a shock. We talk a bit, she asks me what I do, normal stuff. Wedding itself was really nice, went off without a hitch. A couple days after, she calls me up to ask me out for coffee.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Barry says.

“Even if she wasn't on the rebound from an ugly breakup, Alicia really wasn't my type. So I said no. But she keeps calling. And calling. After about a week of that, she actually showed up at the lab.”

“What did you do?” Barry’s eyes are wide.

Cisco feels his cheeks heat up. “I, uh, I hide in the men’s room. I mean, she wasn’t taking no for an answer. I didn’t want to find out what she was there for. Dr. Wells talked her into leaving, and that was the last time I saw her.”

Iris and Barry stare at him with wide, horrified eyes. He hurries to add, “She’s totally alive. I had to tell my cousin what happened, and she would have mentioned if something had happened to her sister-in-law. He just put fear of Wells into her. That was more than enough.”

“You really weren’t kidding.” Barry shakes his head. “And now you have Harry.”

Cisco can’t stop from smiling and doesn’t even try. “And now I have Harry.”

“You have it bad.” Iris puts a hand to her mouth, but Cisco can still hear the slight giggle that escapes.

He turns to Caitlin, because as his best friend, she is obligated to support him, but she is carefully avoiding his eyes and gazing into the depths of her beer. Barry is no better help, too busy gazing at Iris with soft eyes. It makes Cisco wonder what he looks like when he looks at Harry. Somehow, he doesn’t think it’s quite so tender. Not that he doesn’t have tender feeling for Harry. But that kind of sweetness and light really isn’t their style. 

He realizes he’s staring off into the distance, thinking about the way Harry looks at him. Harry is not sweetness and light. Harry looks at him like a starving predator, like he’s the only thing he sees. It is not a look that Cisco should be contemplating in public, not if he doesn’t want to embarrass himself in front of his friends.

He shakes his head to chase the image away. “I’ll be right back. Gotta pee.”

The advantage of trendy new microbreweries is that the bathrooms aren’t disgusting. Cisco has been in more than one bar where the sinks alone were so nasty he felt like his hands were dirtier after washing them than before. He drops the paper towel in the trash and pushes open the door. There’s a loud noise, a sharp pain across the side of his head and then darkness.

**Author's Note:**

> I warned you about the ending.


End file.
